GARNET SILK LEFT BEHIND A SPECIAL COLLECTION OF TUNES!

The Jamaica Observer continues its 20-part series, 20 Days of Silk, which looks at the life of roots singer Garnet Silk. This month marks 20 years since his death.

SHORTLY after his death on December 9, 1994, albums by singer Garnet Silk took the market by storm. In the 20 years since his passing, there have been a number of compilations released, mainly in the United States and Europe.

Among the first to be released was Love Is The Answer which was produced by Steely and Clevie, the hottest producers in dancehall during the 1990s.

Reggae Anthology: Music Is The Rod, was also distributed by VP. Other posthumous Silk albums released by that company are Journey, Give I Strength, Silky Mood and 100% Silk and Reggae Anthology — Music Is the Rod.

Released in December 2004, ‘Reggae Anthology’ is perhaps the most comprehensive of the albums. It contains 37 songs, most of which were hits, as well as early recordings like See Bimbo Ya.

As a deejay, Silk went by the moniker Little Bimbo before a name change in the early 1990s. The double disc album also has an interview with him, done in February 1994.

The French company, Tabou, released the in-concert live at Reggae Sunsplash in 1999.

The most anticipated of these productions, however, was the recordings Silk did for Atlantic Records, the major record label he signed with just months before his death.

Atlantic finally released The Definitive Collection in 2000. The multi-track set was preceded the following year by an album of the same name, but with two CDs.

The latter had a number of the songs Silk recorded for the company with a number of top session musicians led by guitarist Mikey Chung. It also contained several of his hit songs for various producers.

British company Jet Star, which had a foothold in that country since the 1960s, also released Silk material. Their two albums from the singer are 1996′s Reggae Max and The Very Best of Garnet Silk — Gold, which came out in 2002.